Re: virus: maxims and ground rules and suppositions

Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Mon, 17 May 1999 11:56:02 -0400

>"evolution" implies a process and direction - both of
>which are facets of the universe brought into being by consciousness.

No, no, a thousand times no. Evolution _in no way_ implies a direction. This is a common fallacy fostered within the ones doing the implying.... (Uh, yes, often mystics....) (See Gould for the fully-fleshed exposé of this fallacy.)

There are local effects upon the universe brought into being by consciousness, i.e. this post you're reading, but to claim that consciousness is a requirement of any naturally developmental process is, well, a conjecture without factual basis, at best.

I would argue that there is no implication to evolution at all. And it's damn time we stopped trying to work up any. There it is. It is a fact, and as such, the ground under our maximal quest.